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'Black panther' spotted in field near Carlisle - claim

A bus driver has spoken of the moment he spotted what he believes may have been a large black panther in a field a few miles north of Carlisle.

Steven Allison by the field

Steven Allison, 32, saw the wildcat – about the height of an adult rottweiler dog – as he was driving towards Rockcliffe village shortly before 8am on Tuesday.

It is the first time since October 2009 that anybody in the city has reported seeing a wild cat on the loose in or near Carlisle.

Steven, from Firlands, Stanwix, said: “I was driving towards Rockcliffe, about half a mile away from the village, down a section of road that turns to the right and I suddenly saw this thing in the field right ahead.

“It was lying down, and it certainly wasn’t a small animal. When it heard the bus it stood up, startled, and stared for a moment, and then sprinted off towards the end of the field.

“Absolutely everything about it was feline. Its black tail was curled, and if I’d been next to it would have come up past my knees in height. Its coat was black and shiny. I obviously startled it. Afterwards, you start to question yourself, but I know what I saw.

“At the time, my feeling was more one of fascination, but there was no way I would have got off the bus.”

George Scott, from the Knoxwood Wildlife Rescue Centre near Wigton, said he would not discount the possibility that a panther-like creature could survive in the English countryside. He said: “There are so many reports of these things.

“You’d imagine that one or two of them have to be right. I certainly wouldn’t discount it as a possibility.”

Have your say

There used to be a guy that lived in Dale Street who had photos and video footage of Cumbrian and North England wild cats.He showed me and my friends a few pictures and camera footage from his mobile phone that he said came from near Carlisle and Brampton.He has since left Carlisle and does research for the University of Lincoln.His name was either Daz or Jimmy.The images were of Lynx hybrid cats and hybrid black cats that this guy said had escaped from wild life parks then mated with our native wild cats.The cats were said to be around 60 centimetres in height.You never know?

Posted by Caz on
22 February 2015 at 15:27

I don't know if this 'Panther' is a Panther or not but in my humble opinion if it is I quite frankly do not care. BREAKING NEWS wildlife spotted. Seriously? I lived in Canada for 10 years of my life and let me tell you this for free they barely battered an eye lid when bears were rummaging through their rubbish or 'Garbage' as it's called over there. It's wildlife deal with it. D.Pumperump (80)

Posted by The Great and Magnificent (very modest) Donald Pumperump (80) on
17 October 2012 at 13:04